Dear Public Schools, Let's Discuss Sex Before We Get into The Evolution of Dinosaurs

One of the biggest public school fails has to be sex education. I vaguely remember my sex education class. Oh wait, I think I remember speaking briefly about sex in the fifth grade. It was a little hard to concentrate on the lesson because every time the teacher would even think about saying the word “vagina” someone would burst into laughter. There was also that one time, my sophomore year, when my teacher forced the class to look at a slide show full of disgusting sexually transmitted diseases with little to no dialogue. Yes, it scared everyone into abstinence for about two days but no one was able to comprehend the seriousness of these diseases.

When I was in high school, back in 2006-2009, we didn’t have a pregnancy problem. At my high school you would be considered a unicorn if you were sixteen and pregnant. It was way too rare at that time. However, there are bigger things that need to be addressed when it comes to having sex with another person. Young women especially, need to understand the risks that they’re taking even by kissing a random guy at a party. It’s all fun and games until someone leaves with an extra itch down there or a life-changing test result. 

Growing up and even today, I’m sure we all know of, at least, a handful of girls that have already had sex. It’s scary to think that these girls are starting so young and have yet to grasp the concept of sexual intercourse let alone know the ins and outs of their own anatomy. I had so many friends back then that were taking birth control, but still having sex with their little boyfriends unprotected. I also knew girls that vowed to never have sex until marriage, minus oral, of course.

At the time, those girls probably thought they were making smart decisions and in some ways they were. However, they were falling short of a few details: number one: birth control does prevent pregnancy but it doesn’t prevent sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV etc., number two: condoms can keep you safe from disease…except for HPV, herpes etc. In a nutshell, everything that has to do with sex is a risk! So why is such a vital subject looked over in school curriculums?  

Sex education has to start at home and continue into the classroom. The school system is failing our youth, period. Teachers will shove the Preamble of the United States Constitution down your throats every chance they get, yet fail to tell you that STDs can still be contracted while using so called “protection.” Where do their priorities lie as instructors, role models and confidants? If your parents are too timid to talk about it with you then that is when your school should step in.

If you ask the government what they think conservative legislators will preach all day about reinforcing the idea of abstinence. For some irrational reason they think that this is the answer to all of our problems; that adolescents will magically remain sex-free. Have you ever met a teenager? If you say go right, they go left. If you say you can’t go to Tracy’s party tonight, they just end up sneaking out. They are naturally curious and rebellious at that age. By, merely, telling them they can’t do something without explanation is only going to make matters worse. This information is still conducive to their growth as young adults and it needs to be taught more thoroughly in schools.

If we, as adults, don’t speak to our guys and especially our girls about sex then who will? I’ll tell you who, their friends. Think about it, when teenagers go through a breakup or have interest in a cute boy/girl in school they go straight to their classmates. An exchange of advice from one 14 year old to another isn’t wisdom, namely because neither one of them have lived life yet! I would much rather my future daughters come to me with their concerns regarding the opposite sex since than anyone else. I can help her think of solutions that would surpass the adolescent mentality. And if there were questions that I couldn’t answer I would hope that she has someone in school (yes teachers, I am referring to you) that she can express her feelings to.